


Rookie

by tsmagnumm



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Melendaire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 11:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21457240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsmagnumm/pseuds/tsmagnumm
Summary: It is Claire's first day at St. Bonaventure, and she finds a way to connect with Neil Melendez, her attending surgeon.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Rookie

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! This is my first TGD story ever! Hope you guys enjoy this pre-show fanfic. That was a plot I got from a game I used to play. Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my mother language. Let me know what you thought about this. Enjoy!

Claire's first day was going really crazy very quickly and it didn't seem likely to easy down, she was taking care of a young girl with a very rare bacterium on her foot. Maybe she would need an amputation.  
From the middle of the hall she can see a stretcher without the mattress, probably out of use, leaning against a corner. Claire quickly heads to the spot, checking twice before giving a push and sitting on it, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes for a moment.  
After taking a few deep breaths, trying to get any sleep shadow out of her subconscious, Claire hears a voice coming from a room at the end of the hall, a strong but still… caring. A voice she remembered from her interview 2 weeks ago. Dr. Neil Melendez.  
"Barb you need to take those pills." It's the first sentence she can fully identify "You're driving nurse Hawkins here crazy!" the voice that was firm now becomes a little more fun, she can tell that maybe he laughed.  
"I'm leaving, I'm not taking any pills, and you can't stop me!" The voice now sounds older, alternating between a cough that grew even louder in the long, empty hallway "this... place... sucks!"  
"I'm not letting you go anywhere, you got out of surgery just now." The attending surgeon's response comes right after the patient's last sentence.  
“It's been a whole day!” Barb argues back, as if she could be discharged just 1 day after a complicated surgery.  
Claire quickly remembers Dr. Melendez saying that he couldn't baby-sit her on her first shift because he would be in the O.R most of the time. She then deduces that Barb would be this patient.  
Suddenly Melendez argues again, in a lower, confident voice. "I'm here and I'll stay here. Take those damn pills"  
No voice is heard after this, Melendez leaves the room followed by a nurse. He gives her some inaudible orders and the nurse leaves. Neil then goes to a vending machine near the exit of the room, puts on it what seems to be $2 dollars but without selecting any options, just staring at the machine with a top-down look and no idea what to choose.  
Claire thinks for a moment, watching the man standing in front of the machine. She unconsciously bites her lip, imagining a scenario and jumping from the stretcher to the ground, walking towards him confidently with a pretentious smile on her face.  
She approaches him, arms crossed in front of her body and just stares at him quietly for a moment.  
“Rookie.” Neil breaks the silence without facing her when it's no longer possible to ignore her presence and insistent gaze.  
"You look like a snickers boy." Claire says, looking at the place where Melendez was staring in the machine. “Barbara otherwise…”  
"Excuse me?!" He turns to look at her, still stoned.  
Facing him provocatively, Claire is already on her way between Neil and the machine "May I?"  
"Can't stop you from trying."  
He gives her space, pulling back a little. He watches as she looks up and down, tilting her body slightly to the right toward a coffee machine.  
"Give me $4 dollars." Claire orders, holding an open hand for Melendez who remains incredulous at his resident's actions. "$4 dollars"  
"But I--" he even tries to argue but she stands firm "okay." Neil finally gives in, opening his wallet and taking out the amount she asked for, handing it to her. Crossing his arms, he waits for the story to unfold.  
Claire goes to the nearby coffee machine, ordering a medium size of hot chocolate. She waits for the cup to be filled and heads out without any further explanations.  
"This better work." Neil says facing her back while she walks to Barb's room.  
"It will."  
Claire closes the door behind her, leaving a few minutes later with a pretentious grin.  
"Your patient is fine." She announces as she stops in front of him again "Oh, and you're very welcome."  
Neil still can't believe she convinced his patient to stay "How?!"  
"She needed to feel at home." For Claire, that was obvious but she notices that for Melendez it wasn't, so she explains "Hot chocolate always makes me feel like home so I thought "why not?"  
"Good point. Thank you." He says genuinely. Claire goes to the vending machine and orders a number 7. A snickers chocolate.  
"What's snickers for?" Neil asks.  
"Oh, I'm a snickers girl myself." She grabs the chocolate bar and passes him, opening the wrap and tasting it. “Thank you, Dr. Melendez, see you around.” Claire taps his shoulder and leaves with the same confidence she came to him.  
"Get back to work, Rookie!" Neil yells at her, laughing behind it.  
"And I thought I was doing yours!" She doesn't look back but if she did, he would see the giant smile on her face. She loved snickers after all.  
……  
Later, Melendez finds Claire laying on the table in the common area attached to his office, that was now the place where the surgical residents could hang out together and discuss cases. He knows she still has 7 hours into her shift and there’s probably a patient who needs to be taken care of but she looks so calm asleep. Nothing like that pretentious and provocative rookie from moments ago, just a very tired new grad he had gotten a little closer to in the past few hours.  
Neil smiles while he thinks. He sets on the table the coffee he had bought, making a way to her other side, taking the book very carefully and realising it at the space next to her head. It makes a loud noise as it hits the glass, immediately making Claire jump wake and scared.  
“Good morning!” he yells through his laugh while she tries to understand what the hell just happened. Neil thinks her facial expression is priceless.  
“You-- never do this again!” Claire yells as soon as she realises it was Melendez. Throwing a paper ball at him, she smiles through her own frustration as he just turns back to go to his office, still laughing at her.  
“You have a patient waiting for you!” Neil says before closing himself in his own office.  
Claire stops trying to argue with him and finally notices the giant cup of coffee that has her name written. She takes it. A small message close to her name.

“Browne - You deserve something better than a U$2 chocolate. Thank you. Enjoy.”

Claire holds her breath for a moment, re-reading the handwritten message before smiling ear to ear. He remembered her name. She opened the glass door to his office, popping half of her body in.  
“Not ‘rookie’?” she forces a voice like she was deeply hurt by his actions and he gives her a genuine smile.  
“Get back to work.” it’s the only thing Neil says as he stares at her happy, nearly awake face.  
“ASAP, sir.” she nods with the coffee before leaving the room. She tastes the coffee waiting for a simple and strong black but she’s surprised one more time.  
Oh.  
It’s a black, regular coffee but with a hint of cocoa, leaving it with a chocolate signature she loved. I’ll definitely order this the next time I’m at the cafeteria.


End file.
